In industry nowadays, success or failure depends in part upon knowing the up-to-date status of various assets. For example, in the freight delivery business, up-to-date knowledge of the location and, in some instances, the environment of various assets, such as pallet goods, is critical to efficient and reliable operations. Failure to maintain up-to-date status information can result in temporarily lost assets, sub-optimal use of the assets, and in the case of freight delivery, missed or late deliveries. A wireless tracking device or system is highly beneficial for solving the dilemma of knowing the physical location of the asset at a set point in time.
Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Sec. 91.21 restricts the use and operation of wireless communication circuitries and other portable electronic device (PED) aboard aircraft unless it has been previously determined that the specific PED will not cause interference with the navigation and communication system of the aircraft. This covers many RF generating PED, including those that transmit RF (T-PED). However, the FAA restricts the use of cellular wireless communication during taxiing and take off of the aircraft, and while airborne.
Therefore, it is a key technical challenge to devise a tracking device with automatic on-off capability during transit.